In this two-part series, I’ll share what I’ve learned from my own experience as a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) in fast growth tech startups and through ScaleWise’s work supporting dozens of founders navigating this leap. Part one explores how to decide if, when, and how to expand. Part two digs into execution: the people, processes, and pitfalls.

Don’t rush – but don’t wait forever either

Investors can often push founders to expand abroad quickly, especially into the US given the size of the prize. I learned the hard way at a Series A SaaS company where I was CRO. Under pressure, we hired senior sales and marketing leaders in the US, built a team around them, and invested heavily.

But we underestimated the nuances: the strength of local competitors, the localisation our product needed, and the cultural gap between HQ in the UK and a satellite office thousands of miles away. After nine months and $2million spent, most of the US team was let go and we retrenched.

Only later, by covering US hours from London, tightening feedback loops with product, and proving repeatability, did we succeed.

The lesson learned: treat every new market as a new startup. Don’t assume product-market fit translates.

Frameworks will help here. McKinsey’s Three Horizons Model advises allocating 70% of resources to your core business (Horizon 1), 20% to emerging bets (Horizon 2), and only 10% to high-risk, long-term moves like new markets (Horizon 3). Expansion is Horizon 3 – it should be tested cautiously, not drain the core.

Expansion isn’t always the answer

Equally dangerous is expanding too early when the home market isn’t close to saturation. One founder I worked with only had ~1% share in their domestic market but pushed to expand anyway. The complexity, cost, and distraction of a new region nearly derailed the company. What they needed wasn’t a new market – it was a sharper GTM strategy at home.

By contrast, another founder delayed expansion until after Series B. They entered later, with more credibility, more capital, and a stronger GTM engine. Competitors had beaten them on timing, but not on traction – they caught up and overtook within a year.

Patience can be a superpower. Expansion is not about speed, but about entering with repeatability, capital, and clarity.

A marketing-first approach

Beyond mistiming expansion, founders will too often lead with expensive hires. A smarter first step is marketing. Run lightweight, low-cost experiments to test demand: local SEO, content translation, targeted ads. Look for leading indicators: demo requests, ad engagement, website traffic from the region.

As one CMO on a panel I hosted on international expansion said, “If you can’t generate inbound interest cost-effectively, you’ll struggle to justify outbound investment.”

Localisation is more than language

Another misconception is that to localise to a new region, you just need to know the local language, but overcoming a language barrier is only just the start. Buyer behaviour is cultural. Even between the UK and US, sales approaches are worlds apart. In Germany, proof points and process carry weight; in the US, speed and confidence matter.

Your GTM plan must adapt accordingly: ICP, value proposition, sales model, pricing, and marketing all need tailoring to the region. This is why ongoing market scoring (not just one-off research) is vital.

Fractional leadership as a growth lever

Hiring senior leaders in a new market can take 6-12 months, which can result in missed expansion opportunities. Fractional GTM leaders provide instant expertise, de-risking expansion without the cost or delay of a full-time hire.

One £5 million ARR SaaS company we supported had 30% of its revenue from the US, yet the founders were reluctant to move. They sent their British head of sales to New York, but progress stalled. She lacked founder gravitas and local cultural fluency.

We placed a fractional CRO based in the US to bridge the gap, bringing credibility, market knowledge, and speed until a founder eventually relocated. Only then did growth accelerate.

Lesson: founders must lead new markets, but fractional leaders can be the scaffolding that gets the structure in place quickly and safely.

How to know you’re ready

At ScaleWise, we use an Expansion Readiness Checklist that rates founders on product-market fit, repeatable sales process, operational maturity, inbound interest from target regions, leadership capacity, and more. If you score below 20 (out of 50), you’re not ready. Between 21–35, you can experiment cautiously. Over 36, you’re structurally ready to plan and execute.

Signals you might be ready:

• Inbound demand from the target region
• A repeatable GTM playbook at home
• Spare leadership capacity to dedicate to expansion
• Budget ring-fenced for the effort

Key takeaway

International expansion is not just another growth tactic; it’s the riskiest one you’ll attempt. Success depends on entering with the right timing, preparation, and mindset. Think of expansion as starting a new company: validate, test, adapt, then scale.

In Part Two, we’ll explore the execution playbook: compliance, leadership, people, and why you need a “war plan” for every new market.

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